Initiative Petition 17 has collected the 1,000 sponsorship signatures it needs to gain a proposed ballot title. But it still has several legal hoops it needs to go through before sponsors can begin gathering the rest of the 87,213 signatures it needs to gain a spot on the November, 2014 ballot.

The chief sponsors of the measure are Washington County attorney Jill Gibson Odell and Libby Braeda of Tigard. Odell was the legislative director for the Oregon House Republican office from 2007-10 and has also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and in other legal positions. Neither could be immediately reached for comment.

Public employees who work in positions that have been unionized can decide not to join the union but still must pay "fair share" dues to the union.

The proposed initiative would allow public employees to opt out of joining the union and says they cannot still be required to pay any union dues. The sponsors call it the "Public Employee Choice Act."

The public employee unions, which have become political players in Oregon, have fended off several ballot measures seeking to prevent them from raising political donations through paycheck deductions. But if this makes the ballot, it would be the first time Oregon voters would be asked to address whether public employees can opt out of union membership.

UPDATE: Odell said she has also received other contributions and expressed confidence that she would have the support she needs to make the ballot. She added that she is not critical of the unions and is not acting as a front person for anyone else.

"I believe it is time that Oregon has this debate about freedom of choice," said Odell. "I believe it's a civil rights issue."